[Chronic osteomatous otitis media: apropos of 2 cases]

Osteomatous chronic otitis media is an extremely rare clinical entity. Fleury has described three types: a massive type, a diffuse attico-antral type, and a localised type. This latter is equivalent to a state of chronic inflammation of the middle or outer ear, accompanied by bony excresscences of osteomatous type. Here we add two additional cases to the few which are to be found in the literature on this subject. We would also like to emphasize the practical-surgical difficulty of treating such cases, with the vital structures of the middle ear hidden (facial nerve, lateral semicircular canal, and ossicles), and would advise the greatest care when tackling these surgically.